Providence men’s basketball coach Kim English was clearly caught off guard when asked if he was single during the postgame press conference after the Flyers’ upset win over Creighton in the Big East quarterfinals on Thursday.
A reporter says he’s “trending on Black Twitter (now X)” after seventh-seeded Providence beat the second-seeded Blue Jays 78-73 at Madison Square Garden. English seemed surprised to hear this.
“So they want to know…what is his marital history?” said the reporter.
The host, who was sitting next to English, joked, “I think this is the first question between a husband and wife in the history of the competition,” drawing laughter from the audience.
“The exact question is, is he single? What did the girls want me to ask?” the reporter continued.
The 35-year-old coach grimaced and laughed before refusing to answer, and the presenter could be heard referring to the question and saying: “You can pass.”
Mr. English replied, “No comment.” “I’m locked into this team. I’m locked into this team right now.”
The postgame moments also caught the attention of NFL Network host Rich Eisen. Who wrote on X?: “If he’s married, it won’t be long before he says ‘no comment’ when asked if he has a wife.”
It is unknown whether English is married.
English, a Baltimore native, has two daughters, Celine and Ali, the magazine reports. providence website.
The former NBA player was hired as the head coach of Providence’s men’s basketball program in March 2023.
Prior to that, he held coaching positions at Tulsa, Colorado and Tennessee, and spent two seasons as head coach at George Mason.
The Detroit Pistons selected English with the 44th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and he appeared in 41 games during the 2012-13 season.
He then played professionally overseas for two years and had a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls in 2014.
Providence will play the No. 3 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
